Faculty and Staff

General

What is Connections?

Connections is a web portal, a single point of access to all the electronic services
that Webster University offers. It integrates e-mail, online courses, online registration,
grade entry, and billing information into a single web-based interface that can be
accessed from any internet-capable computer, using a single username and password
(your Connections ID). It also provides personal productivity tools like a calendar,
address book, customized content channels and news feeds. There are community collaboration
tools including campus announcements and group tools that offer forums for file exchange,
discussion, and chat.

What is a Connections ID?

It is a single username and password that is assigned to every Webster person. (We
often refer to this as a Single Sign-On or SSO.) It will eventually provide access
to most of our electronic systems, including e-mail, webmail, WebCT, Online Registration,
wireless network access, and the Connections web portal.

What are the benefits of a Connections ID?

Some of the benefits of using Connections include:

Each user only has to remember one username and password.

If a user forgets his Connections password, it can be reset quickly without having
to call the Help Desk.

Having a single password increases security. If a password is ever misplaced or stolen,
it an be reset quickly by the user in central location, without intervention by IT.

IT can provision services more quickly, because credentials are centrally managed.

Is my Connections username and password assigned or do I get to choose them?

Your Connections username is assigned to you. It is usually some portion of your
name followed by the last two digits of our Webster ID number. You receive a temporary
password in the mail which you will use to activate your Connections account. You
then choose your own password during the Connections account activation process. There
are requirements for the password you choose. It must be between 6 and 14 characters,
must contain at least one number and two letters within the first 6 characters and
cannot contain a word found in the dictionary. These requirements are for security
purposes.

How do I sign up for a Connections account?

Go to http://connections.webster.edu/myaccount and click on Create Account. Then,
enter your student ID or SSN and use the temporary password (activation code) that
Webster sent to you to set up your account. You should have received your activation
code in an email from the University after you enrolled in classes.

How do I obtain my Connections ID?

If you are a new student, you are assigned a Connections ID when you enroll in classes.
If you are a new faculty or staff member, you are assigned a username when the hiring
process has been completed. As soon as your enrollment or hire is complete, Webster
will send you a temporary password, known as an activation code. How you receive the
code depends upon whether you're a student, faculty or staff member.

How to Receive Your Activation Code

Students

In an email sent to the email address you provided on your application for admission

Faculty

In a letter mailed to your permanent address

Staff

By calling the Help Desk

When you receive the activation code, you may go to the Connections Account Management web site and set up your account. You will need your student, faculty, or staff ID
number that appears on official correspondence from the University and on Webster
ID cards, and the activation code you received.

If you encounter problems setting up your account, you may contact our Help Desk at
314-968-5995 or 1-866-435-7270. If you can verify your address, phone number, and
other biographical information, you will be issued an activation code that allows
you to set up your Connections ID immediately.

I don't have my password. What do I do?

Please call the IT Service Desk at 314-968-5995 or 866-435-7270.

How do I reset my Connections password?

Go to http://connections.webster.edu and click on “I've forgotten my username or password.”

I've set up my Connections account and am logged into the portal. When I click on
the "Mail" icon, I get an error message that says: "Couldn't authenticate to the mail
server. The system couldn't authenticate to the mail server for account 'Webster mail'.
Please enter the correct password into the pop-up dialog box and press OK."

This error most often occurs when you try to access your email for the very first
time after setting up your account. If you receive this error message, you should
also receive another popup box, titled "Enter Password" asking you to re-enter your
password. Simply type in your Connections password once more into this box and click
OK. This should load your email for you without a problem, and you will not receive
this error message in the future.

I receive the error message specified above but I do not see any other popup box
to enter my password again.

If you are not seeing any popup box after receiving the error message specified above,
you have some sort of popup blocker or security program installed on your machine
that is preventing this box from appearing. You will need to determine what is installed
on your machine and disable it in order to get the popup box to come up. Examples
of popup blockers include the Yahoo toolbar and Google toolbar and the popup blocker
that comes standard with Internet Explorer on Windows XP Service Pack 2 machines.
Programs like Norton Internet Security or McAfee are also known to block certain popup
windows. After temporarily disabling any and all of these programs, close your browser,
reopen it, and then login to Connections again and attempt to access your email. The
popup box should now appear. If it does not, not all programs preventing popups have
been disabled.

I'm getting a message that my account has expired when I try to log onto Connections,
why?

If you have not logged on to your Connections account in 12 months or more, your account
will expire due to inactivity. Call the IT Service Desk at 314-968-5995 or 866-435-7270
to get your account re-activated.

Students

I do not know my student number.

Your student number is a seven (7) digit number found on all official papers from
Webster. You can find this number on your account statement (bill), your Registration
papers and financial aid documents.

How do I check my grades, register online, view my statement, and access other student
services?